Oh, we all have that friend, don’t we?

The one who slides into your DMs late at night, slightly panicked, linking to a clickbait reel titled something like “AI will replace all creative jobs by next year 😱”.

And look, I get it. The pace of change lately has been wild. Tools popping up left, right and centre. Everyone suddenly becoming a “prompt engineer”. It’s a lot.

But let’s get one thing straight: AI isn’t coming for your job.

The web designers who are using AI smartly? They might be.

So… will AI replace website designers?

Short answer? No.

Longer answer? Not the good ones. Not the ones who know how to use it as a tool rather than a threat.

The web designers I see inside WP Mavens and my courses aren’t stuck in doom scroll mode. They’re using AI to work smarter, not harder.

Think: building websites faster, writing stronger copy, creating SEO-optimised blog posts, generating client-ready imagery, and whipping up site concepts quicker than ever.

Some are even expanding what they offer – blogging packages, brand messaging, content strategy, you name it.

So if you’re worried AI will replace website designers, it’s worth asking: are you using it to your advantage yet?

“But won’t clients just do it themselves?”

Sure, just like they’ve been able to make their own logos in Canva for years now.

Spoiler: graphic designers still exist. And many are thriving.

Just because clients can use AI tools doesn’t mean they want to.

Most don’t have the time, patience or taste level. They want someone who can bring it all together – the words, the look, the user journey – in a strategic way. AI can help you deliver that faster, but it won’t do it for them.

We’re not just designers anymore

At the Women of Web Summit, I hosted a panel about the shift from “designer” to “strategist”. It struck a nerve.

Because that’s where things are going.

Design skills are still valuable. But when you layer them with strategic thinking, messaging, UX, and brand clarity? That’s the sweet spot. And it’s also the bit AI can’t replicate – not properly, anyway.

No tool can truly understand a niche market, unpack a business model, and make strategic decisions with nuance. That’s your superpower.

So what should you do with AI as a web designer?

Use it. Play. Explore.

Try tools like ZipWP to scaffold site builds. Use AltText.AI to generate image alt text in a click. Draft blog posts with ChatGPT or Claude. Experiment with AI image creation. Write SEO meta descriptions in half the time.

These aren’t shortcuts. They’re starting points. The difference is what you do with them.

Real talk from the WP Mavens community of web designers

Some of our Mavens are now confidently offering:

• Website copywriting (even if they don’t call themselves “copywriters”)

• Blog content + SEO bundles

• AI-generated image libraries

• Brand & marketing strategy services, with AI doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes

A year ago? These offers weren’t even on their radar.

TL;DR

Wondering will AI replace website designers? It won’t. But it is changing the game.

If you sit back and ignore it, you might get left behind. But if you lean in, learn, experiment and play… you’ll be the one building smarter, faster, more profitable websites while everyone else is still panicking about prompts.

Want to see what this shift looks like in real life? Catch the replay of our Women of Web panel – we dove into this exact topic. (Coming soon to my blog here.)

And next time that friend sends you an AI-doom reel, just send them this post back 😉

Em x